We all love doing fun things with our friends… but as a busy bee, sometimes you have to settle for “Facetime” instead of REAL face-to-face time.
This weeks Spark Bites is ALL about the fun you can have on your favorite social media platforms, just so long as you have an internet connection and a friend on the other end.
Instagram is changing the game with a karaoke update, Tinder introduces super boost, Spotify tests real-time music sharing, Snapchat is one step closer to becoming your favorite gaming app, and Facebook levels up its program for emerging gaming creators.
This week, Instagram has one-upped popular music dubbing app TikTok by releasing a karaoke feature in an update. This sticker feature allows users that have Instagram Music available in their region to display the lyrics to the song that they feature in the background of their story. The lyrics can be displayed in various fonts and are displayed in real time, allowing users to take control of the animation style—including a traditional karaoke teleprompter, a flashy billboard version, and a typewriter.
If you are one of the 25.4 million followers of artist Billie Eilish on Instagram, you may already be familiar with the latest story update to the app. Instagram has taken advantage of Billie’s latest album release and fan base to promote the sticker with a Billie Eilish “behind the lyrics” moment with fans.
No more excuses for not knowing the lyrics to a song!
Tinder
If you’re still having trouble sparking that summer romance, Tinder has a life hack for you! They’re introducing super boost, which is similar to the existing paid feature “boost” on Tinder, but with SUPER awesome capabilities for gold and plus members.
Once this a-la-carte feature is purchased and enabled, it makes your profile visible to up to 100x more potential matches during peak “looking-for-company” hours. For 30 minutes, the feature will put your profile on the top of the stack, and also allow you to turn your read receipts on within the app.
No more lulls in conversation: if we’re paying for the best, we deserve the best!
Spotify
“What song is this?”
Ask no more, Jessica.
Spotify has you covered with this new update in the works, which we’re surprised hasn’t come sooner.
Introducing Social Listening (not to be confused with the digital marketing tactic of monitoring online conversations!), an unreleased feature that will allow multiple people to add songs to a queue, which they can all listen to in real time by scanning a QR code within the app.
According to TechCrunch, Spotify is toying with the idea of synchronized playback, so co-listening may go beyond sharing an earbud with your friend on public transit.
Snapchat
Can you believe that once upon a time, online people tended to their virtual farm crops, chickens and cows?
No matter the platform, simple objective games like Farmville have always been popular in the gaming world, and now Snapchat wants to add an additional interactive feature to them.
As announced last April, Snapchat has come out with Snap Games, a series of multiplayer games available to Snapchat users within their chat bar.
Now, its multiplayer shooting game “Battle Royale” has launched, which is exclusive to Snap Games. The game is similar to Fortnite, and allows up to 30 players to compete in teams of up to four players.
Keep an eye out for the other minigames soon to come!
True gamers know that sometimes, the feeling of a virtual win can’t be explained in mere words.
Facebook has upgraded its level-up program for emerging gamers and livestreamers by creating exclusive stickers and emojis for their fans.
Subscribe to your fave gamer for just $5 a month, and you can gain access to stickers and exclusive content.
Thanks for reading, Spark Biters. See you next week!
